Finding the Hallows: Albus Dumbledore's Story
by Edward J. Hawthorne
Summary: This is the story of Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald-Their friendship, search for the hallows, and their final battle. It tells of Albus' struggle to find out who he is and what he wants to be. A prequel to the Harry Potter series.
1. Chapter 1

Albus Dumbledore's Search for the Hallows: A Harry Potter Series Prequel

Chapter One

"_The world breaks us all. Afterward, some are stronger at the broken places." Ernest Hemingway__- Farewell to Arms_

_After 'The Tale of Three Brothers' _

Death was disappointed in himself. He had allowed himself to be fooled by three common _men. _Men, the most _imprudent _of species in his opinion. He chastised himself for letting pride get in the way of his thinking, then thought maybe it was because he was spending so much time near humans these days that he was acting like this. Pride and foolishness, he thought, the two qualities that made up the pitiful beings known as mankind. Of course, he thought, in the process, he had created the three most powerful objects to ever exist, and as he believed, ever would exist. A long, billowing, water-like fabric known as the invisibility cloak, a long, menacing, and powerful wand that seemed to radiate known as the Elder Wand, and finally, a small, thick slab of rock known as the Resurrection Stone.

He, who shuddered at nothing, found himself committing the very same act in the presence of the stone. The reason, avid reader, is that this stone, this small, seemingly insignificant piece of rubble, was the one thing that could do the thing that men could only dream of doing; conquer death. Which, as you know, means conquering him. That made it his enemy. Which meant it must be rid of. Of course, these objects were created by death, which meant they couldn't be destroyed, only hidden. Death planned on doing just that. He felt that one day, even if they were found, (which he highly doubted) they would be found by someone competent, worthy, and most importantly, selfless.

With that thought, he sent the objects flying away to hide themselves over the Earth. He parted the scene to go take care of some business that had come up at the sight of a large bombing some 30 miles west, only stopping to shudder for a second time that day at the thought of what might happen if those objects somehow got into the wrong hands.

Albus Dumbledore was knocking on the door of a foundationally unstable house. He was trying not to knock to hard in fear the house would crash down as a result, but he was growing impatient. His battered old trunk lay beside his feet, and perched on top of it was a handsome young phoenix with fiery red feathers that answered to the name of Fawkes. He was mewing softly inside his cage, his cry sorrowful; most likely reflecting the current feelings of his sullen, usually cheerful master.

The door opened to reveal a short, muscular teenage boy with a face as sullen as the boy standing in front of him. He was Aberforth, Albus' younger brother, though the only resemblance they bore were the same shocking blue eyes. Albus took him into a rough, wordless embrace. He let go quickly, then asked "Where's Ariana?" Ariana, the boys' 12 year old sister and the reason they were in this catastrophic situation, walked into the kitchen at that moment, answering Albus' question.

He rushed up to Ariana, hugged her, and then asked "How're you holding up?" She blinked, confused. "What do you mean Albus?" He looked at her questioningly, not sure if she was playing some kind of cruel joke then said "I mean, how're you coping with mother being….gone?" Albus had almost said dead, and was glad he didn't. Though 'dead' would've been a very appropriate word for his mother's condition, saying dead would've made it final. Absolute. Definite. Of course, if you asked anyone who knew Albus Dumbledore, they would tell you without hesitation that he was one to face facts. He would admit it himself. But a lot of things had changed about Albus in the past months, and not wanting to face facts was one of them.

Ariana then answered him carefully, as if _he_ was the one who was terribly mistaken and confused and said "Oh Albus, mother's not gone. She's upstairs, in her bed, sleeping peacefully. Now that I think about it, she has been asleep awhile. Oh boy, will _she _feel rested when she wakes up! She'll also be happy to see you Albus. She always loves to hear about your adventures at Hogwarts." Albus was alarmed. He glanced at Aberforth and he nodded. "Ariana," he said. "Why don't you go and fetch Fawkes here some water? He must be parched after such a long journey." Ariana nodded eagerly then skipped out of the room, humming merrily to herself.

Aberforth spoke before Albus could question him. "She's in denial, Albus. I kept trying to tell her, but it was like she couldn't her me. Dr. Wendell says it's from shock, and should wear off in a while, but I just don't know what to do when it does." Tears swam in Aberforth's eyes. Albus felt a surge of sympathy for his brother. Only a teenager, and he was forced to take care of his mentally deranged sister, isn't allowed to go to Hogwarts because he has to manage the house, and putting on a brave face the whole time. Albus sighed deeply then said "Well you won't have to do it alone Aberforth. That's why I'm here." He clapped a hand on his brother's back and faked a smile. He picked up Fawkes' cage and his trunk then trod up the stairs, only turning around to say "Tell Ariana to bring Fawkes' water up to my room."

He went into his old, faded bedroom, then faced the cold, hard fact that he would probably be living there for the rest of his life. He looked at his dusty old bed then immediately thought of how much he wished he could be in his big four-poster bed back at Hogwarts. He threw himself on the bed without even dusting it off then thought about all the things that was wrong with his life.

His mentally unstable sister killed their mother with her irresponsible use of magic

He didn't know what to do when she found out that she did kill their mother

He had to give up a promising career and life to take care of her.

He didn't know what his next step would be

And he didn't have a single friend to confide in.

Albus usually found that organizing his problems on a list made them easier to solve, but this time it actually made him feel worse. He then did the only thing that he could do that felt right: he cried himself to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Albus Dumbledore's Search for the Hallows

Chapter Two

"_Only a man who has felt ultimate despair is capable of feeling ultimate bliss.__"_- _Alexandre Dumas in 'The Count of Monte Cristo'_

Albus woke to a ray of sunlight shining heavily on his face. The source of light had come from a nearby window that was badly in need of dusting. Albus wiped his eyes, knowing he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. For a moment, he had forgotten that he had any problems in the world at all, but the revelation of his present position crashed down on him like a pile of bricks.

Sighing heavily, Albus went to the bathroom to get himself ready for the day ahead of him. He pulled back the shower curtain and cringed at the sight that beheld him. The tub was covered with mold, and a cockroach was making itself across the ledge. Albus pulled back the curtain and made a mental note to have it cleaned later. He brushed his teeth and got dressed, then rushed downstairs to prepare breakfast.

Albus pulled out a series of items including eggs, milk, bread, bacon, marmalade, and butter. He stared at the items spread out in front of him, then realized he had no idea where to start. He'd been at Hogwarts for the past seven years, and all his meals were served for him. He pulled out his wand and stared at, hoping for inspiration. Of course, most wizards had in fact used magic to make their meals, but they still needed to know how to cook in order to instruct the wand. Albus started to wonder if his mother had any magical cookbooks in the house when Ariana came skipping down the stairs.

She raised an eyebrow then said to him "Are you making breakfast, Albus?" "Well," He said flatly. "Trying, and ultimately failing" She rolled her eyes then said "Here, let me help you. I help mother cook all the time." With those words, they began slicing, dicing, frying and cooking. Ariana showed Albus several clever tricks for cooking, and he was very grateful for it. As they were cooking bacon over the stove, Albus looked thoughtfully at his sister. She wasn't _so_ crazy. Not all the time, anyway. Besides her spontaneous use of magic, he thought, she was a very normal girl. Happy, playful, and even helpful. It was just her unpredictable powers. At school, Albus learned that knowing magic was a wonderful gift people are lucky to have. But maybe this life wasn't cut out for everyone. People like Ariana, whose magical powers are really their flaw. He looked pityingly at his sister, wishing with all his heart he could take burden of these abilities away from her.

Ariana turned to look at him, then asked "Why are you looking at me like that Albus?" Stirring Albus out of his thoughts, he said "Oh nothing, just thinking that maybe we should cook some sausages as well." Ariana turned back to the bacon and said "Oh no, mother doesn't keep sausages in the house, she says that they are to fattening." Mentioning their mother brought up another thing he wanted to talk about with Ariana. "Ariana," he said slowly, carefully choosing his words "You know, there's a chance that mother won't wake up. You see, when you hit her with that curse-" but the rest of Albus' sentence was drowned out by a large yawn that had come from Aberforth who was walking down the stairs, his hair rumpled and disheveled. He shot Albus a warning look then walked down the stairs muttering something that sounded like "Morning all."

Aberforth helped himself to a strip of bacon and slumped into a chair. He looked at Albus then asked "So what's your plan?" "Huh?" Albus said, startled. "What are you going to do to support us all? I mean, mother's money will only last us about another five or six weeks._ I'm_ going in to town today to get a job, but it probably won't pay much since I'm only 14." Aberforth said, depositing another piece of bacon into his mouth. Now that Albus thought about, he _did _need some means of supporting them. "You know what Aberforth, I think I'll go with you into town today. I'm going to get a job as well. Go get dressed and we'll live in ten minutes." Aberforth nodded approvingly then walked up the stairs to his bedroom. Albus wasn't too worried about Ariana. In a letter, Aberforth had said that when he and mother needed to go into town, they left her with an old widow named Ms. Hendsforth who lived near the creek. She was a kind old lady who knew how to handle Ariana's meltdown's in case there was one, seeing as she raised 12 children and that was basically like having one unstable child already. Ariana said she didn't mind too much, because Mrs. Hendsforth liked to tell her stories of when she was a girl, which were apparently very exciting.

After Ariana was dropped off at Mrs. Hendsforth's house, Albus and Aberforth apparated into Diagon Alley. Aberforth, being underage, traveled using side-along apparition to Albus. They were transported in front of an old bar called 'Hog's Head'. Aberforth was very green and started stumbling around on the cobblestone sidewalk. Albus held his shoulders to steady him, than Aberforth muttered something about going to the bathroom. After Aberforth walked in to the bar, Albus took the opportunity to gaze around Diagon alley, which in his opinion was far more satisfactory than the old Hog's Head. Shops of all shapes, sizes, and colors were scattered about the streets, decorated with colorful signs and ornaments. The people, Albus felt, were almost as colorful as the shops. It might have been the fact that he had only been seeing plain black robes and top hats for the past seven years, but these people looked so…alien. Pink, green, and blue clashed together magnificently, polka-dots, stripes, and jewels.

A couple minutes later, Aberforth ran out the doors of the Hog's Head, looking excited. "Albus, Albus!" he cried "I just got a job, and we haven't even been here ten minutes!" Albus looked startled. "Already?" he said "Where?" "In the bar, where else?" Aberforth responded disdainfully. Albus looked at him strangely. "As a barman? You're not even old enough to drink yourself! And frankly, I don't think it's a very good idea. You don't know what kind of crowd comes in there." "No, _Albus_" Aberforth said exasperatedly. "I'm just and assistant. You know, I'll sweep, mop, clean the bathrooms, do inventory….stuff like that." Albus thought about it for a moment. "All right, I guess that's a good idea."He said. "But you're going to have to walk around town with me while I get a job; I have no time to apparate here and back." "Fine" Aberforth grunted. So they set off.

The rest of the job hunt wasn't as easy for Albus as it was for Aberforth. You see, the boys' father was a prisoner in the wizard jail Azkaban for murdering several muggles. Over the years their family was mocked and shunned. Albus managed to quench that reputation slightly by demonstrating his intellectual skills and wisdom while at Hogwarts, but of course, most people in Diagon Alley didn't know of Albus and his abilities so they persecuted him almost as badly as they would have his father.

After meeting with dozens of store and business owners (from clothing stores and ice cream joints to owlries and joke shops) Albus began to feel discouraged. They finally arrived at an old, tall brick building that looked as if it must've been magnificent at one point in the past. Gold cursive letters at the top of the building read 'Borgin and Burkes'. Albus doubted that he would get hired, but felt he might as well try one more place.

Albus opened the large red door in front of the building. He walked inside and marveled for a moment the odd beauty of the old shop. On the shelves were objects he had never seen before, some looked as if they might be dangerous. Behind the counter was a handsome young man with dark hair and eyes that looked about Albus' age. Albus approached him. "Excuse me" he said. "May I see the owner?" The young man looked at Albus reproachfully. "Mr. Borgin does not like to be disturbed. Maybe I can help you?" "Well, actually," Albus said "I'm looking to apply for a job." "A job?" the young man said "Why are you looking for a job? You look about school age." "Well, what's your excuse" Albus said in a dignified voice. "Mr. Borgin has tutored me since I was just a boy. Which is why I know he does _not _liked to be disturbed. Now why do you want to see him?" The boy demanded. Albus answered carefully. "I just graduated from Hogwarts. You see, my mum just died and I have to take care of my brother and sister. Henceforth, I need a job. Please let me see Mr. Borgin. He's the only one left in town."

The young man studied him carefully for a moment. "Alright, I'll get Mr. Borgin. He _has _been saying we need to some extra help around here." He said. Then he walked into the back room. A few moments later, a middle-aged man who Albus presumed was Mr. Borgin walked out of the room, with the young man close at his heels. "So" the man said. "Gellert here tells me that you're looking for a job. Is that correct?" Albus nodded his head. "Well it just so happens that we do need an extra hand around here. I am not, however, desperate. I require only but an intelligent, skillful, and determined young man. I will conduct an interview with you to see if you are worthy of the position. Is that clear?" Albus nodded his head once more. He was under the impression that Mr. Borgin was not a mean person, but he did have his priorities straight. After they sat down, Mr. Borgin began asking questions.

"What is your name?" Albus replied carefully, hoping that Mr. Borgin would not know who he is. "Albus Dumbledore, sir." Mr. Borgin looked at him then said "Did you know that Dumbledore means 'bumblebee' in Early Modern English?" "No I didn't sir." Albus replied, relieved that the only thing the man knew about his name was that it meant bumblebee. "Tell me, do you have any schooling experience?" Albus cleared his throat then spoke. "I went to Hogwarts for seven years; I just graduated last month. I was prefect, head boy, and I graduated with honors. If you want, you could ask Professor Dippet for a reference…" he trailed off. "That won't be necessary, Albus. I believe you." Mr. Borgin replied gently. "But if you graduate with honors, then why do you seek employment in a mere shop? Why not explore the world, like most young wizards?" At this point, Albus felt the truth was inevitable. He sighed, looked directly at Mr. Borgin, and then spoke.

"Mr. Borgin, a few months ago, my mother died. You see, my sister is very unstable, so she shot her with a spell by accident. My father, as you probably have heard by now, is in jail. So, as man of the house, I was sent here to take care of my younger brother in sister. But I assure you Mr. Borgin, I am nothing like my father. I have no prejudice against muggles; quite the contrary, I feel they are a valuable asset. And as for my sister, well, I'm not like her either, and she's not even so bad to begin with" Albus finished, feeling resigned. There wasn't a chance he'd be hired anymore, he thought.

Mr. Borgin studied him for a moment then spoke softly. "Albus, unfortunately, there are many people in this world who will hold the mistakes of your father and pin them on you. I, however, will not do that, I swear it. I myself am not proud of my family, and I'm sure that you're tired of being turned down because of something that is completely out of your grasp. You seem like a highly qualified candidate for the job, which is why I'm hiring you."

A smile lit up Albus' face. "R-really?" he blundered. "Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me." "You're welcome, but please try not to stutter. It's not very attractive." Mr. Borgin answered. "But before I let you go, I need to tell you about your job." Albus shut up then listened. "You are not to disclose the details of your job with _anybody. _You will be going from place to place, attempting to buy and trade rare items. At times, it might get dangerous, so I ask that you to think before you jump right into this. And remember what I said, _don't tell anyone _about your work. Got it?" Mr. Borgin said, nothing but seriousness on his face. Albus nodded and said "Got it." "Very well" Mr. Borgin said, nodding approvingly. "You start tomorrow at 8 am sharp, don't be late. Now be on your way. Your brother seems to be very anxious." He said nodding towards the window, where sure enough, Aberforth was hopping from foot to foot, looking as if he was in bad need of a bathroom. Albus left the shop, and for the first time in months, felt pleased with himself.


	3. Chapter 3 PREVIEW Not Full Chapter

Albus Dumbledore's Search for the Hallows: A _Harry Potter _Series Prequel

Chapter the Third

"_Man's greatest fear is looking within himself"-Jacob Renesky _

_**I AM ULTRA UBER SORRY FOR NOT UPLOADING…**_

_**I NEVER REALIZED HOW HARD IT IS FOR OTHER AUTHORS TO HAVE TO DO THIS…**_

_**SORRY FANFIC AUTHORS…. **_

_**This is only a preview of Chapter Three, I'll have the rest done by next week, that's a promise. **_

_**I HAVE NOT given up on this story. **_

_**By the way, I hope everyone enjoyed "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1"- I know I did! **_

Albus placed the books on the shelf one by one, in alphabetical order as Mr. Burke had requested. He was using his wand to do so, and felt his right arm was getting a bit heavy from holding it up, so he switched to holding it with his left hand.

He had been working at Borgin and Burkes for almost 2 weeks, and felt it was the best experience he'd had since arriving at Godric's Hollow. He was better at trading with people then he thought he'd be—Mr. Burke said it was Albus' natural charm.

In the time he had been there, Albus had collected a set of rare jeweled alligator hearts from a one eyed man by East Densely, a curved black sword that burned in your hand if you held it too long from a woman in a shack by the mountains, and a monkey skin wand charm from-well, Albus didn't really like to talk about it.

Albus accidentally dropped a deceivingly light looking volume of snake charms on the floor, but before he could pick it up, his moves proved preemptive. Gellert flipped his wand and levitated the wand back on the bookshelf from across the room. _Wingardium Leviosa_, Albus thought. Like Albus, Gellert had mastered non-verbal spells, but Albus still liked to use words. It felt more right, somehow.

"Tut, tut my dear Albus. You got to stop acting like a muggle. _Magic is Might _after all." Gellert said wagging his finger. Albus rolled his eyes. That phrase Gellert kept using got a bit tedious. It was actually an old saying that meant magical people were special, not a purposeful insult to muggle people. Yet Gellert always hinted that was his perception. But it couldn't be, Albus thought. Gellert wouldn't be that thick.

Gellert was another good thing about this place. In those few weeks, he had become Albus' best friend. His first real confidant in a while, and in a way, they were better than his friends at Hogwarts. They were about the same level intellectually, so they were constantly challenging each other. Albus also felt it was nice to have someone so interesting to talk to.

"Mr. Burke is sending us on another mission, Albus." Gellert said to him from about three feet away, seeming to have zipped in from nowhere. "He wants us to go on this one together, since he said it might be a little hard."

"A little hard?" Albus asked. "What could it be we have to get this time. Like, the holy grail?"

"By the way he was talking it was more important. Apparently, it's a treasure chest that belonged to wizard pirate Arenzy Ishmael. You know the story, right?" He did. They learned in school that long ago, before wizard governments were formed, but knowledge of magic existed, there were wizard pirates who used their powers to steal treasures and such. Ishmael was one of the more renowned ones.

It was strange to Albus however. It was rumored that right before he died, he locked his treasure chest up with an unbreakable charm because he didn't want anyone to have his treasure, which was supposed to be the greatest of all the earth. But it was lost for centuries—but apparently, Mr. Burke knew where it was.

"Where is it?" Albus asked.

" It says on this slip of paper it belongs to a witch near the river."

"Okay, let's go" Albus said, putting the book down.

They gathered their things and headed out the door in the late noon sun, the bell on the door clanging wildly as it slammed shut.


End file.
